My Painted Lady Butterfly and I

Prior to the arrival of our caterpillars, I go over with the class what a non-fiction book is. We make a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two books. I explain to the students that over the next few weeks we will be raising, taking care of, and monitoring the development of our Painted Lady Butterflies. While we are doing this we will be making our own non-fiction books comparing the painted ladies to ourselves. I suggest that you purchase blank book journals with a clear cover on the front. Students should work together in groups of two for camera sharing purposes. I would suggest ability grouping the teams so that a higher level student can help the lower ability student. Our painted lady butterflies arrive to us from BOCES in the early stages of being a caterpillar. Once the caterpillars arrive students will select their own butterfly and name it. The students will have a digital picture of their caterpillar and them, taken by their team mate. This picture is used for the cover of their book. Students will add a title, author, and illustrator to their cover using the word processor. The next page in their book is reserved for a dedication page. Next we leave room for the table of contents. This section will be a continual work in progress as we complete each page. The first part of the book is a list of the proper ways of taking care of a caterpillar. Have the students brainstorm possible ideas. Some could be : Do not turn its cup upside down, or do not drop your caterpillar. Have students take pictures that relate to their ideas. This part can be very creative. The book than begins with a picture of just the caterpillar. On this page the students write the name of their caterpillar, when it arrived, and approximately how old it is. On the opposite page will be a picture of themselves with a written explanation of their name, how old they are, and their birthdate. Next the home of the butterfly will be prepared. Students will photograph each other putting holes in their cups and placing crushed mallow into the cup. The students will write about the mallow and how the caterpillars use this for food. A picture of mallow from research could be added here. The other option is to go out and take a picture of mallow if you can find some. On the opposite page should be pictures of food that the students ate when they were young. Students will write about the different types of food they ate on this page. Make sure students compare and contrast their eating habits to their caterpillar. The next page will be a close up picture taken when the caterpillar is a little older. Students will label the parts of the caterpillar(mouth, eyes, bristles, legs). Students will also tell what each part does. On the opposite page will be a picture of the student labeling similair parts and functions. While observing the caterpillars over the next week hopefully the students will see the caterpillar molting. If they are so lucky the students will take a picture of this event and write about it. On the opposite page students will brainstorm if we do something similair and write about it. The next stage that will be photographed for the book is the caterpillar going into it's J shape. Students should try to get a close up picture of this and label the silk button that the caterpillar attatches itself to. The following page will be a close up picture of the caterpillar in it's chrysalis. Students will research what happens during this stage and write all about it. Teachers should help the students move their caterpillars to their new home. I suggest using boxes with a mesh lining on the front. When the butterfly emerges from it's chrysalis students should try and capture this on film. Some of them will happen when they are home so students might have to share so they can each get a picture of this amazing event. Students will write about this change under their picture. Students will compare this change to adulthood to changes they will experience in life as they get older. On the next page will be a close up picture of the adult butterfly. Students should label and explain the funtion of the antennae, eyes, proboscis, legs, and spiracles. Students will compare these parts to their own similar parts. A great page to include is the butterfly eating a honey/water solution applied to sponges using their proboscis. Have the students take the cameras to lunch so they can document what they eat. This picture and write up should be opposite of the butterflies eating their honey. Hopefully the butterflies will mate and lay eggs. The eggs of the painted lady butterfly are very tiny and green. This page should contain a picture of the eggs along with a write up about them. In comparing and contrasting their way to reproduce help the students list the facts. A page can be added with the four stages of the life cycle. Minature pictures would work well here. One of the last pages in the book is for the glossary. I hope you have as much fun with this as I do. Hopefully we will get some funding so we don't have to share our one outdated camera.